TRINITY OF LIGHT - Medical uses of Light

Light has been used to heal since the beginning of written history. The Greeks practiced heliotherapy, utilizing the sun as a curative. Today people with limited natural sunlight exposure use full spectrum light bulbs to cure SAD (seasonal affected disorder). Surprisingly SAD is a disorder that can affect people in sunny weather. People under artificial light at home or work can suffer from SAD depression and not know why. Sun depravation and artificial light exposure can be detrimental to health.

In the early 1900s light was successful in treating tuberculosis, rickets and epidermal problems. Scientist also had some success experimenting with pigments and photosensitive chemicals to enhance light’s effect. During that time period there were several other medical innovations beginning to develop which led to a Nobel prize award for Neils Finsen in 1903. His breakthroughs using red and ultraviolet light to heal people were outstanding.

Biostimulation:
It was not until the late 1950s that light was able to be isolated into a single monochromatic wave, which led to the invention of the laser. It was eventually discovered that monochromatic light (via Laser or LED) had the ability to heal tissue. The Russians seemed to be the early adopters of this technology. Over 25 years ago Tiina Karu Ph.D. the Director of Laser Medicine at the Institute of Laser Technology in Russia was one of the first to document double blind studies proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that biostimulation heals tissue. Currently there are over 80 recent biostimulation FDA (Federal Drug Agency) approvals. Each approval is for a single use, meaning only one type of affliction treatment per device. This is a hindrance because in Europe and other countries a single device can be used for multiple indications treating several afflictions. NASA and the US Navy currently utilize biostimulation devices that the FDA has never seen, nor approved. Biostimulation does not mask the symptom, it fixes the problem.

Chukuka Enwemeka Ph.D. Professor at the New York Institute of Technology and Former President of the World Association for Laser Therapy feels biostimulation could save health care systems billions of dollars annually. Biostimulation commonly is light in the red and infrared range. Many devices on the market have settings for pulsed or continuous photons. It is thought that pulsed light activates DNA response, wherein continuous light helps with blood flow and assists in the reduction of inflammation. Biostimulation is successful in speeding up healing time for cuts and post surgical incisions. Also in the treatment of; chronic pain, athletic injuries, nerve damage, arthritis, herpes, sciatica, carpel tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, dermal ulcers, oral lesions, acne, psoriasis, eczema, burns and stretch marks to name a few. In the case of diabetic lesions biostimulation can save limbs from surgical amputation. Occasionally there are cases of beneficial secondary non-intended affects occurring for patients after biostimulation treatments, such as normalizing blood sugar level and other systemic changes. Ronald Waynant Ph.D. Senior Optical Engineer of the FDA believes this medical technology could greatly benefit what he calls, “the big three: heart attack, stroke and diabetes,” pointing out that the reduction of damage could be significantly reduced by this technology. Biostimulation is performed with very low powered lasers or arrays of very high-powered LED’s (light emitting diode).

Photodynamic Therapy:
If you take the same type of low powered laser and combine newly developed light sensitive drugs, the effect changes. This creates a photochemical reaction able to eliminate tumors, diseased tissue and bacterial infections. This treatment is called PDT (photodynamic therapy). PDT came to fruition with the first FDA approvals in the late 1990s, much of it guided by Thomas Dougherty MD of Roswell Park Cancer Center in New York. PDT is performed by injecting or applying topically a drug that makes the tissue light sensitive, then shining monochromatic light on the affected tissue. This technology can be effective at eliminating cancers, systemic and epidermal. It is also a powerful antibacterial agent, eliminating topical infection and periodontal bacteria, and has the amazing ability to melt away artery plaque with a light catheter. All over the globe PDT is successfully treating skin, lung, breast, vaginal and throat cancers, brain tumors, macular degeneration, gum disease and pre cancerous cell conditions. Light activated drugs in combination with specific waves of photons create a photochemical reaction that destroys problematic tissue.

Ultraviolet Blood Irradiation:
Finsen, one of medical light’s early innovators was the first to treat aliments specifically with ultraviolet waves. Ultraviolet light is used as a germicidal in hospitals; it also is used as an antibacterial in water purification systems, and has recently been proven to reduce worker illness when installed into building ventilation systems. By 1940 Emmit Knott had been successfully treating patients blood with ultraviolet light. Knott’s medical contributions were substantial. He quickly cured viral and bacterial infections, including pneumonia, within days. His accomplishment went unnoticed because antibiotics had just been discovered and were believed to cure everything. It has been found that toxins such as: diphtheria, tetanus and snake venom are inactivated in the presence of UV light. The Russians and a few European countries are now using ultraviolet blood irradiation (UBI or UVBI) technology. During surgical procedures a portion of blood in exposed to ultraviolet light and within minutes the blood goes from dark and murky to bright red and thinned. There is a single use indication approval UBI by the FDA. This procedure is only done in combination with a light sensitive drug. It is called Photopheresis for the treatment lymphoma. The drug is mixed with blood then exposed to UV light, then the drug is filtered out, it is a very costly process. Many biological components of blood are light sensitive and UBI advocates do not see the need for photoactive drugs for successful treatment. However, a 1991 HIV study at Columbia University’s Photopheresis Unit in Morristown, New York demonstrated that over fifty of patients with HIV became negative in less than 20 treatments.

Fritz Albert Popp, a West German Chemist and Physicist, discovered living cells radiate ultra-weak light emissions. This emission correlates with cellular biological and physiological functions. Joseph Tafur M.D., working at Scripps Medical Center La Jolla, California states that light is utilizing an optical regulatory system of photo-communication with the cell.

Symptomatic medicine is based on a perpetuation of aliments, rather than healing the disease in the body. This type of approach is what continues to cause medical costs to spiral out of control, making health care not only unaffordable, but also less effective. It has been proven that Biostimulation, Ultraviolet Blood Irradiation and Photodynamic Therapy will greatly benefit human health. These methods have already eradicated diseases, from cancer to HIV, at their sources. Are we so comfortable in our revolving door health care system that we will refuse to see new solutions? Is the world ready to embrace this technology? Health care systems are struggling with cost overruns and hospital closers. When the truth comes to light, there will be an economic shift in the medical community. By people pulling together to spread this information we can make a positive impact in everyone’s future.